Sarah Jane Weldon Blog

The Quilter's Guide to Cozy Mysteries and #cozymysteryday

3/6/2019

If you love quilting and a warm and fuzzy, feel good mystery book, then chances are, you will immediately fall in love with this niche of cozy mystery books - completely dedicated to the art and craft of quilting! Yep, you read that correctly - story books for people who are mad about all things quilts and quilting. This month we are exploring the first book in a series as our theme, and each day through June I'll be bringing you some starter books to try out and see what you think. You can grab some free 'first in series books' here too.

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When sixty-eight-year-old Sarah Miller moves into the Cunningham Village retirement community, she is mourning the loss of her husband, her young grandson, and the place that has been home for forty-two years. But Sarah is a survivor. As she reaches out into the retirement community that is to become home, she finds friends, activities, new hobbies, and a possible love interest. In the first installment of this fun, friendly series of cozy mysteries, one of Sarah’s new friends is murdered, and she and her feisty friend Sophie are determined to find the killer.

When Angela Braddock inherits her late aunt’s beautiful Amish quilt shop, she leaves behind her career and broken engagement for a fresh start in Holmes County, Ohio.

With her snazzy cowboy boots and her ornithophobic French bulldog, Angie doesn’t exactly fit in with the predominantly Amish community in Rolling Brook, but her aunt’s quilting circle tries to make her feel welcome as she prepares for the reopening of Running Stitch.

On the big day, Angie gets a taste of success as the locals and Englisch tourists browse the store’s wares while the quilters stitch away. But when Angie finds the body of ornery Amish woodworker Joseph in her storeroom the next morning, everything starts falling apart.

With evidence mounting against her, Angie is determined to find the culprit before the local sheriff can arrest her. Rolling Brook always appeared to be a simple place, but the closer Angie gets to the killer, the more she realizes that nothing in the small Amish community is as plain as it seems....

Welcome to San Fernando Valley, California, where Martha Rose and her coterie of quilters are enjoying life on the good side of retirement - until murder pulls a stitch out of their plans...

Martha and her besties Lucy and Birdie are set to expand their Quilty Tuesdays by inviting newcomer Claire Terry into their group. Though at forty Claire's a tad younger than their average age, her crafty reputation could perk up their patchwork proceedings, especially as they prepare for the fancy quilt show coming to town. But when they arrive at Claire's home and find her dead inside the front door, and her exquisite, prize-winning quilts soon missing, Martha is not one to leave a mystery unraveled. Especially if she wants to stop a killer from establishing a deadly pattern...

Someone has murder all sewn up.

Keely Fairchild left her previous profession as a high-powered attorney to lead a quieter life as a certified quilt appraiser. But when she's asked by the Danger Cove quilt guild's president to prove that a local dealer is selling cheap reproduction quilts as expensive antiques, Keely's "quiet" new job turns dangerous. While Keely and the guild president are in the dealer's shop, the crooked quilt peddler is killed. Unfortunately, the local police think the guild president has the best motive, and Keely stakes her professional reputation, and possibly her life, on proving that the police have the wrong person. Suspects abound, including the dealer's business partner, a rival dealer whose quilts were illicitly copied for the reproductions, an arts reporter who's been threatened with a libel suit, and even the director of the local museum. But which one murdered the crooked dealer? And which one has Keely squarely in his sights now...

Retired folk art curator Beatrice Coleman knows everything there is to know about quilts, except how to make them. But with her recent move to Dapple Hills, North Carolina, she’s learning all sorts of new things—including how to solve a murder…

As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself…

But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Miranda Hathaway is the town librarian and a member of Cutler Quilt Guild Number One. She likes to read mysteries, especially Sherlock Holmes. When someone breaks into the house of another guild member, rips apart an heirloom quilted skirt, and leaves the torn pieces behind, everyone in Cutler, Pennsylvania thinks Miranda can solve the mystery!

Gabe Downing, a retired FBI agent from Boston, has recently joined the quilt guild as its first and only male member.Coincidence? Miranda doubts it but she finds herself attracted to this new man in town. He asks her to dinner and she's flattered at first, but then her suspicious mind wanders. Does he know more about the break-in than he's saying? Is he trying to find out what information she might have? Well, two can play that game!

Can Miranda and Gabe find the "Quilt Ripper" before another vintage piece is destroyed? Gabe may have experience on his side but she has her own secret weapon. The ladies of Quilt Guild Number One are on the case!

Harriet Truman returns to Foggy Point thinking she’s just going to see to her aunt Beth’s customers while the lady takes a European cruise. Instead, she discovers she now owns both business and house, whether she wanted to or not. Still, she’s stuck until Aunt Beth comes home, and she does enjoy being a part of creating beautiful quilts.

But then Avanell Jalbert, her aunt’s best friend, is murdered on the same night someone breaks into Harriet’s studio and trashes the place. Something is coming unravelled in Foggy Point, and Harriet is caught in the tangle. The question is, can she figure out what’s going on before she ends up dead herself.

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More Quilting Cozies to Explore

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How to Celebrate Quilting Cozies on #cozymysteryday

The 15th September 2019 (Agatha Christie's birthday) marks our inaugural #cozymysteryday celebration. This is an annual, worldwide event to share your favourite cozy mystery books, movies, and television series with the world, using the hashtag #cozymysteryday on social media.

If you are a quilter or have a quilting blog, podcast, newsletter, or circle of friends, then why not share the day with them in any way you like. Perhaps an interview on the radio or with your local newspaper? Have a signing day of your books, or a display of quilts and books? Or share your quilting photos on Instagram and use the hashtag #cozymysteryday to help raise awareness of the quilting mysteries. There are loads of fun things you can do to mark the day, the most important thing is to have fun and get people talking about how fab cozy mysteries are.